“When we launched our first two rough terrain cranes in 2017, we started with a 90 tonne machine, the LRT 1090-2.1 and a 100 tonne crane, the LRT 1100-2.1”, reports Julian Rapp, Product Manager at Liebherr in Ehingen. “These were the right machines to start with. Built with a clear concept that we called KISS – keep it simple and safe. Our goal was and is to offer the safest rough terrain cranes. But not only safe, also highly efficient, economical as well as easy to transport and operate. The feedback on these two cranes has been very good to date – and the question for a larger unit has come up again and again in recent months.”

At this point, it was the right time to start raising questions in the biggest market for rough terrain cranes – North America. Beau Pocock, product manager for RT cranes at Liebherr USA, Co. was eager to get together with customers and came up with a load of interesting requests. “The market for larger RT cranes is growing at a fast pace in the USA. The need for a machine in the 120–140 tonne range was voiced loudly by our customers. This also solidifies the fact that we at Liebherr intend to offer a full line of RTs to our customers. That’s why the main market for this new machine is the US and Canada, but we also see big chances for such a crane in Latin America and the Middle East.” The engineers back in Ehingen asked the product management for application areas of a larger RT crane, to understand the customers needs and to develop the right crane concept. Pocock explained that “for the US, there is a wide variety of applications. The strongest markets would be petrochemical and industrial jobs, the crane will be used as a bare rental machine there. Another strong market would be wind power, this crane will be great as a tail crane for rotor blades, the assembling of larger cranes such as crawler cranes like the LR 1800-1.0 or the LR 11000, and larger LTMs like the LTM 1750-9.1. The mobility of the new crane and its 60 m (197’) boom will open the door to many markets such as tilt wall construction setting trusses, cell tower work and so on.” Georg Reinbold, Head of Sales Latin America & Middle East at Liebherr in Ehingen, adds: ”Beside these applications in North America, we also see a huge market in South America and Mexico, especially in the mining segment, where such crane acts just like a Swiss pocketknife for many different jobs. And we also have requests from customers for port handling applications, where such crane will fit in just perfectly. Also, in the markets in Middle East, we are convinced that this crane will be a helpful multitool for the oil and gas industry.”

Having these huge markets and many applications in mind, the engineering departments in Ehingen went straight to work. It was clear that our customers will expect superior lifting capacities than that of other machines in this class. And for sure the machine must follow the successful principle of the two other rough terrain cranes in our product line – KISS. Regarding transport, “we’ve been asked for a machine in this class to transport easily in two loads, which the LRT 1130-2.1 does very well now. Just under 9.4 m (30 feet) in length and a transport weight of 44.8 tonnes (106,000 lbs). The North American market for rough terrain cranes is mostly a bare rental market, and so it was important for us that the new LRT 1130-2.1 is in a similar price level as other 120–130 tonne machines to keep the rental rates profitable for our customers”, says Pocock.

The new standard in the 130 tonne class

The toughest in the roughest. That’s the slogan we at Liebherr have chosen for this new enlargement of our rough terrain crane product range. Talking about the key arguments of this crane, Pocock goes on: “The LRT 1130-2.1 offers many advantages to any customer and defines a new standard in the 130 tonne (140 US-ton) class. Offering the largest capacity in its class on two axles, with a footprint comparable to smaller models is a key point. The global safety standards make it the safest crane in the rough terrain crane market. The larger cab is more comfortable than any cab of a rough terrain crane. On top the LRT 1130-2.1 offers more standard features than any crane of its type in the market.” And also Reinbold is convinced that “all these great features make the LRT 1130-2.1 the best choice for customers, and that’s not just North and Latin America as well as the Middle East, no, it’s clearly all over the world.”

Like the other rough terrain cranes in the family, the LRT 1090-2.1 and the LRT 1100-2.1 cranes, the LRT 1130-2.1 also complies with a global, uniform safety standard and thus with globally valid regulations such as the US ASME B30.5 standard, the European EN 13000 standard, the Australian Standards (AS) and the Russian GOST standard. This is another key argument, coming from the KISS principle.

Julian Rapp sums up: „Our goal was to develop the strongest 2-axle-rough terrain crane on the market with the longest telescopic boom and an acceptable transport weight. These three pillars, capacity, reach, and transport were developed based on our customers feedback and the demand in that market class. It was great to hear the feedback from many customers in Munich during the show – and not only from North and Latin America, but also from many other countries around the globe where we did not expect such great feedback coming from. We are looking forward now getting the first units delivered into the different markets and we are also interested to hear more feedback at the presentation during the Conexpo in Las Vegas.”